Making the Cut

LIFE LESSONS

Making the Cut

Pat Cirrincione

At one time or another I believe we’ve all heard the phrase, “making the cut.” Whether it’s in a sport, a theatrical production, a sorority or fraternity or a job, it means that we made it, we’re in. We got on the team, in the play, in the club or got the job. Coming from a sports-oriented family, I’ve heard that phrase numerous times in my life; however, when a friend from church called me to say she had made the cut into a woman’s group, I was taken aback. I had never heard that term used within a Christian community, but then, God turned the light bulb on over my head.

Allow me to go back in time—all the way to the days of John the Baptist and Jesus. John was definitely different, living in the wilderness, wearing a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist and a diet of locusts and honey. The only way you could “make the cut” with John was to be baptized and confess your sins. John was all about preparing the way for God’s Son.

Then along came Jesus, the Savior, the Son of the living God, one of the biggest influencers of his day, and still going strong. (Although the word “influencer” is a term associated with social media, I thought it described Jesus perfectly).

For those not accustomed to using the word influencer in everyday conversation, here is what the Miriam Webster Dictionary says: “An influencer is a person who is able to generate interest in something by posting (talking) about it. They are people who have dedicated followers and are viewed as experts within their market or field of expertise. They have thousands to millions of followers, and they have the power to affect buying habits, change individual thinking and even form public opinion.” Jesus was, and is, without a doubt the greatest influencer then and now.

Then there were the bashers, or the Pharisees, Sadducees and scribes. It was their self-appointed job to publicly mock Jesus and make sure that he wasn’t allowed to make the cut into their circle of influence.

Now let’s fast forward to today. As I said earlier, making the cut means to succeed at something, to be chosen out of a field of candidates or possibilities. It means becoming a part of a Super Bowl Team or getting a part in a movie that allows you to win an Oscar or Academy Award or being chosen to compete in the Olympics with some of the best athletes in the world. However, for the vast majority who don’t make the cut, the default is to seek help and hope in lesser places, when only the Lord can meet our deepest needs.

Every individual is important. The corporate unity and purity of God’s people must be internally preserved. Believers are called to expend effort to seek out and help others make the cut into God’s kingdom through grace, not performance.

Christians are equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16- 17). So do not keep what you know about God to yourself. Extend love and grace to the truly needy in society—the elderly, the lonely, the outcasts and the underprivileged. Remember the Sermon on the Mount and the Beatitudes in Matthew 5: 1-11 and people to make the cut into the kingdom of God by his words in his book, the Bible.

When one makes the cut, they are assured of things hoped for and the conviction of promises not yet seen. By faith, when tested, they do not grow weary but are pushed forward with endurance to finish the race. (The Book of Hebrews reminds us of this.) By faith, we who love Jesus stay strong and courageous because we know that he is at work in us.

On Good Friday, we remember the one who took our sins upon his body, with every lash of the whip, so that we may have forgiveness of sin and eternal life; for those who are called according to His purpose; for “God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

Remember, if you don’t rest your soul in Jesus, you’ll never find the peace and purpose in making the cut into God’s kingdom. Choose for yourselves this day, this Easter season, and all through the year, whom you will serve, and what making the cut means to you without Jesus, the Savior, the Son of the Living God.

What kind of influencer do you wish to become? Who will you serve? The god of Super Bowls, the Oscar idol, the Olympic gold? What cut are you looking to make? Because “as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:15)